Rock Out With No Cock Out

I was in the middle of drafting a response to Kirstin’s challenge this month describing this great conversation Matt & I had a couple of weeks ago about some of the selection-topic-related reasons why women weren’t represented much in our last few playlists, when I realized that Matt had just done it rather eloquently himself in a comment on this month’s selection post. Read it to see where our heads be.

Now that that’s out of the way, let me focus on my list. Kirstin’s challenge was wide open to interpretation, and because there was just so much to choose from, I decided to narrow my focus to women who buck the “sensitive lady singer/songwriter” cliché and buck it hard. I’ve noticed myself listening to rock and punk bands with female singers & musicians more and more in the last few years — is it because they’ve always been out there and I’ve just overlooked them? or because more and more are cropping up as the rock world becomes more accepting of women? Probably a bit of both, but the trend in my listening isn’t a conscious decision at all: if it kicks ass, I will play it, and here are the most ass-kickingest of the recent crop:

1. Elastica, “Mad Dog”
   Elastica were a small part of the mid-90’s British invasion, scoring a couple minor UK radio hits with their self-titled debut. They flamed out after that ‘94 album, suffering from numerous lineup changes and the tabloid-fodder end of frontwoman Justine Frischmann’s romance with Blur/Gorillaz main man Damon Albarn. They resurfaced in 2000 with The Menace, a taut, experimental punk album that was one of the best records of that year. This is my favorite track from the album because it’s so unpredictable and fun: the guitars jerk and growl, Justine howls, and the tune is peppered with 8-bit bleeps and bloops. Fantastic stuff.
2. Yeah Yeah Yeahs, “Date With The Night”
   This Brooklyn-based art-punk trio made a big splash in 2003 with their MTV-friendly ballad “Maps,” but that song is an anomaly in their catalog: the heart of their debut Fever To Tell and their live shows is lead singer Karen O’s yelp and frantic energy. “Date With The Night” has become my favorite tune from the album: it’s a 2-ish minute shot of thundering punk that packs an even bigger whallop on stage. They make a racket that you can’t ignore.
3. The Donnas, “Too Bad About Your Girl”
   I didn’t really get The Donnas until I heard Spend The Night, which sounds like the soundtrack to an early 90’s teen movie as played by AC/DC. Big, juicy, classic-rock riffs dominate their upbeat punk sound, and their tunes are full of teenage hormones and high school social politics. It’s like a version of Dazed & Confused that I can tolerate.
4. Noisettes, “Don’t Give Up”
   Don’t you just love it when a band just instantly clicks for you? That’s the Noisettes for me. As soon as I heard the jerky opening blues riff of this tune and Shingai Shoniwa’s dynamic, gripping voice, I was sold. Their music sounds like a jazzier, (believe it or not) wilder take on the Yeah Yeah Yeahs art punk, and it’s impossible to resist Shingai’s zany charm.
5. Gemma Hayes, “Hanging Around”
   I first heard this song while walking around a Virgin Megastore in London, and I became an instant fan. The bulk of Hayes’ debut album Night On My Side is light, introspective folk-pop, but every once in a while she lets her hair down and really kicks out the jams, giving a few of the songs a soaring, muscular rock treatment. Her sophomore album, The Roads Don’t Love You (which never had a US release), is heavier on the folk and is probably truer to the nature of her sound, but songs like this are a nice reminder that sometimes the lady folkies like to kick some ass.
6. The Sounds, “Like A Lady”
   What is it with the Swedes and unbelievably catchy pop songs? No matter what the style — disco (ABBA), bubblegum (Ace of Base), indie (The Cardigans), garage (The Hives) — the Swedes make it work, and The Sounds are my favorite Swedish new wave export. Their tunes are amazingly hooky, and Maja Ivarsson’s got a charismatic voice and presence. This song is from their Blondie-inspired debut Living In America.
7. Universal Honey, “Any Road Back”
   I first encountered Universal Honey while in college — I was (don’t laugh) working security at a Goo Goo Dolls concert on campus, and they were the opening act. Talk about a hard act to follow: the songs they played were bouncy pop-rock and unbelievably catchy, and lead singer/guitarist Leslie Stanwyck had a charismatic-as-hell stage presence — I couldn’t take my eyes off of her the entire set. Before the Goos came on, I ran & grabbed a copy of their disc Earth Moon Transit from the merch table, and it was a regular fixture in my CD player for months. They were only a blip on the radar in their native Canada and they never broke in the US, but they’ve always been a private fave of mine. I’m not sure what happened to the band (their last album, Vicious Circles, came out in 2004), but every once in a while Earth Moon Transit and “Any Road Back” find their way into regular rotation on my iPod.
8. Scissor Sisters, “Tits On The Radio”
   Jake Shears gets the spotlight, but having seen the Scissor Sisters a few times in concert, I can safely say that singer Ana Matronic is the heart of the band. She’s sassy, she’s bawdy, she dresses like Miss Yvonne, and she’s the personification of fabulous. “Tits On The Radio” is one of the few songs where Ana grabs the mic for lead vocals, but it’s a fantastically sweaty, sexy shot of robotic electro.
9. Sahara Hotnights, “Who Do You Dance For?”
   Holy crap, more Swedes? Yup. Sahara Hotnights are the best pop-punk the country has to offer. They didn’t reinvent the wheel on 2004’s Kiss & Tell, but they did release one of the most consistent albums of that year. I dare you not to tap your foot along to the beat.

Enjoy the tunes!

Download: Elastica, “Mad Dog” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Yeah Yeah Yeahs, “Date With The Night” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: The Donnas, “Too Bad About Your Girl” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Noisettes, “Don’t Give Up” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Gemma Hayes, “Hanging Around” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: The Sounds, “Like A Lady” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Universal Honey, “Any Road Back” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Scissor Sisters, “Tits On The Radio” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Sahara Hotnights, “Who Do You Dance For?” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Uncle Sam’s “Rock Out With No Cock Out” (XML Playlist)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

You can also get the whole shebang (har dee har har) as a ZIP archive:

Download: “Rock Out With No Cock Out” (ZIP)
(Click here for download instructions)